Should Tube turn off autodraft?

Tube

OPINIONS PLEASE

bowen

I say yes, seems more harmful then helpful. At this point I've just used adblock to block it so no hair off my back either way.

UncleSporky

Yes please.

A lot of times I type something and decide not to post, or start replying and forget about it, and then next time I go to the thread the stuff I typed before is still there which is mildly annoying. For the sake of tidiness I feel like I have to constantly click into that gear and erase the auto-created drafts.

I can understand if I'm one of very few bothered by this and I'm just being dumb and should not worry about it, but it's just been a compulsive thing to muck with since they've been enabled.

And I have actually used drafts to good effect before, but I just made sure to click Save Draft. I don't think I have ever once been glad that the forum saved my draft automatically.

SmokeStacks

Autodraft has seriously saved my ass a few times when I have accidentally closed the wrong tab or my wifi connection dropped or something else like that while writing a long post.

bowen

Control + Shift + T works for me when I do that.

Tube

Don't be a dick. For like, five minutes don't be a dick. We'll gradually work up from that, but I really feel like five minutes is within your reach.

zerzhul

SmokeStacks wrote: »

Autodraft has seriously saved my ass a few times when I have accidentally closed the wrong tab or my wifi connection dropped or something else like that while writing a long post.

Yeah while its issues can be annoying on occasion, I would much rather have it and not need it than lose a large post and not have it.

What I would really like is just the option in a post box to clear that draft without going to the "my drafts" tab. That would solve 100% of my problems with the draft tool. I understand that this would require development time though, and not just flicking a switch.

bowen

Tube wrote: »

Don't be a dick. For like, five minutes don't be a dick. We'll gradually work up from that, but I really feel like five minutes is within your reach.

It was intended to be advice. Seriously my bad if you thought I was being a dick there.

Works on all the browsers that have tabs that I know, so, even for anyone else.

Barrakketh

zerzhul wrote: »

What I would really like is just the option in a post box to clear that draft without going to the "my drafts" tab. That would solve 100% of my problems with the draft tool. I understand that this would require development time though, and not just flicking a switch.

Adding a button to delete the draft wouldn't take much time at all. I've done it myself in a browser extension:

function addDeleteDraft() {

    $('<a href="#" id="PAT_Delete_Draft" class="Button">Delete Draft</a>')
        .css({'margin': '0 6px'})
        .insertAfter($('div.Buttons > a.DraftButton'));
    $('#PAT_Delete_Draft').click(function (e) {
       e.preventDefault();
       var textarea = $('textarea[id^=Form_Body]');
       var draft_id = $('#Form_DraftID').attr('value');
       var trans_key = $('#Form_TransientKey').attr('value');
       if (draft_id) {
           var uri = '/vanilla/drafts/delete/{0}/{1}?Target=drafts'.format(draft_id, trans_key);
           $.ajax({url: uri, type: 'GET',
               data: {DeliveryType: 'BOOL'},
               success: function (data) {
                   textarea.val("");
               }
           });
       } else {
           textarea.val(""); //clears the textarea if a draft hasn't been saved
       }
    });
}

IcyLiquid

@Barrakketh‌ as with everything we do, there are more considerations than just "will it work on this one site called PennyArcade?"
Other customers have other themes which are implemented differently. There's the mobile themes as well, and the NEW mobile theme on top of that.

IcyLiquid

That said, if you want to have a go at it, you're welcome to submit a PR to the master branch here: https://github.com/vanillaforums/Garden

Neco

I have gotten used to it, and have kind of trained myself to check my drafts before posting, but I would prefer to not have it automatically on. It definitely has its benefits though, so I don't have terribly strong opinions about it either way.

see317

IcyLiquid wrote: »

@Barrakketh‌ as with everything we do, there are more considerations than just "will it work on this one site called PennyArcade?"

Surely, that's the most important consideration though, right?

Personally, I like the draft functionality. It gives me the chance to hold off on posting something so I can read it again in 15-30 minutes and decide if it's actually worth posting.
I'd like a more efficient way to get rid of old drafts beyond going through and deleting them one by one, but then, I'd also like a pony. Doesn't mean I need either one.

Fyndir

I have no objection to the drafts, really, and if they help some people out then I would say keep them.

However the current placement of the drafts button right next to the mark all as read button could use a tweak, perhaps.

Anon the Felon

I think this isn't possible, since I vaguely remember reading about it before...

But, is there a way we could have the option? Just a check box in our profile would solve a lot of these complaints.

If it's just a yes or no...

Then yes. I'm tired of having to go delete half sentence drafts because I relized I didn't really need to post my dumb opinion.

Edit: Can we keep the draft button and turn off autodraft? Then people who can't finish their post can just click "save draft" and come back later, but it won't be so annoying when autodraft bugs out and keeps your posted draft.

End

yeah I'd prefer it off...I would have been a much stronger yes earlier on, but I've sort of gotten used to replacing my drafts with a single character and manually saving them, so it doesn't bother me as much now

Henroid

I was just about to bring up the possibility of it being an option. I'd rather have that if possible since people do make use of it.

I'm also in favor of having manual draft saving still be a thing. But since this is about autodraft, yeah let's try out having it off I say.

Tube

The draft button will be there no matter what. Turning off autodraft will just mean all drafts have to be saved manually.

Athenor

I'm perfectly fine with the autodraft, even if sometimes my text box does weird things like adding + or - symbols when I'm typing. I do wish it was easier to clear drafts, but other than that my only issue is when I hit tab to post the reply and instead it goes to the save draft button. It also bogs down the mobile side a bit, but that's my phone.

So all and all, it's a net positive, and I'd like to keep it.

Henroid

Athenor wrote: »

I'm perfectly fine with the autodraft, even if sometimes my text box does weird things like adding + or - symbols when I'm typing.

That's actually a feature I really like. It's there if you're making a list, either via -'s or numbers. Sometimes it'll erroneously add things, but it will correct itself in most cases.

Tube wrote: »

The draft button will be there no matter what. Turning off autodraft will just mean all drafts have to be saved manually.

That seems like the best compromise. It's worth trying out for a week or two to see how people work with it.

Gaslight

I recognize the occasional utility of autodraft but on the whole it has been more of an annoyance to me than a convenience. So I would lean towards saying I'd rather have it gone.

Peen

Yes please, off off off.

Grunt's Ghosts

I rather have auto drafts off, if only because I post here from a moblie phone and when that thing pops up saying draft saved, it blocks about 30% of my screen, which, considering I have less than inch of view once the keyboard pops up, is quite alot.

Sterica

Many posts would be tragically lost without autodraft. Provided it's not causing any forum issues (slowdown, etc.), I say keep it on.

Banzai5150

I've never had a need for autodraft and it's been more of a slight annoyance to me than anything. I'd prefer to have it off and click the manual option than have it on.

ElJeffe

I've had more posts wind up with random garbage from some previously aborted post than I've had drafts saved from random catastrophe. If we're going strictly with "Would you personally benefit from disabling autodraft?" I'd say yeah, shut it down.

However, when it has saved my ass it's been really welcome, and I've acclimated to double-checking my post window before I hit QUOTE or start typing, so I don't really mind it being around, and it seems like other folks kinda dig it, so I'd wager it's probably a net-positive for the forum?

I mean, if we're making wishes to the forum-genie, then sure, I'd love to have a "Clear Draft" button, right next to the "Give Me a Unicorn" button. In Real World Penny-Arcade Forum Land, though, where the options are ON or OFF, I'll go with ON.

ASimPerson

I'd prefer it off. My anecdote would be that I've never been saved by it and it is occasionally annoying because I will hit "Post reply", wait a second, and try to figure out why nothing happened, and then see "Draft saved" in the bottom-left corner.

Since I only find it annoying, though, I'm with the people who more have a preference for it to be disabled than a burning hatred.

Buttcleft

I personally hate drafts with an unhealthy amount of passion and fervor, and I would like to see it road hauled down a path made of gravel and salt covered glass.

I wish it was an option that could be toggled individually, since that would make everyone happy.

But since that's not an option, I guess I'm going to say not to get rid of it purely on the basis of many others seem to like it.

If its possible, could we at least get a delete all drafts button on the drafts page?

undergroundmonorail

Personally I'm not a fan of autodraft. That being said, my only real issue is that sometimes it chooses to save my draft while the post is in the middle of posting, so it gets posted as well as being saved as a draft so I have to go in and delete it. If that was fixed I wouldn't really care either way.

On top of that, people who don't like autodraft can adblock the script, but turning it off for everyone hurts the people who do like it...

Tube

ASimPerson wrote: »

I'd prefer it off. My anecdote would be that I've never been saved by it and it is occasionally annoying because I will hit "Post reply", wait a second, and try to figure out why nothing happened, and then see "Draft saved" in the bottom-left corner.

This is actually the biggest concern for me.

Gaslight

Yeah when it decides to save a draft at the exact moment you click "Post" (or whatever is happening), that's pretty annoying.

ElJeffe

That's actually something I had forgotten about - if disabling the autodraft will eliminate the post-reply-not-actually-posting-a-reply bug, then yeah, I say kill it.

T-bolt

Off please - autodraft is more of a nuisance to me

DarkPrimus

I would prefer to have it turned off.

If it does end up getting turned off, maybe have a little box above the post field for a week or so after the fact informing everyone that they have to manually save their posts now? In the same area as Geth appears when informing users of forbidden words, etc.

Scooter

I've never been saved by it and often been annoyed by it, so my vote is off.

Maybe it's just my habit, I'll often start typing something and realize, hey, no one actually cares about this. But then that stupid comment will be haunting me even months later the next time I check the thread.

Eat it You Nasty Pig.

on balance I would rather have it on than not

the annoyance involved amounts to what, ctrl+A and then backspace? And it's sometimes nice to be able to save a draft either for later or because you accidentally close the tab or whatever

Lars

When it comes purely to personal preference or experience, I'd rather have it off.

I can't think of a single time it saved a post for me, but it produces minor annoyances on a nearly daily basis.

However, having a "Clear Draft" button next to the "Save Draft" button so I don't have to go to another page to get rid of them would help a lot (alternatively, if I delete the entire post and then hit "Save Draft" then just let it realize I don't want it saving anything anymore instead of remembering the last text that was there). Of course, that wouldn't solve the "auto-saving right when you post" thing and such.

iTunesIsEvil

I'd vote for off, please. I've never needed it, and it always seems like it causes some weird bugs... though that's me making an assumption, in that I'm convinced that the little 'there was a problem' pop-ups in the bottom-left of the screen are all caused by auto-draft doing something behind-the-scenes and failing.

MulysaSempronius

I've never needed it. It makes it difficult on the mobile version to have it on.

tapeslinger

I've definitely had it be helpful in terms of saving a long post that would've otherwise been lost*, but I also don't love the 22 or so draft posts that have accumulated in my list thinger. I've definitely also had it glitch out saving the post and not actually posting it (I always assumed this was a thing that had to do with using the mobile version because that's probably how I do half or more of my forum posts, but apparently it's just autodraft in general)

I feel like some of the autodraft hate is a little extreme, but I can see where opting-in via the "save draft" button would be nice for some folks, rather than having it enforced as not-bypassable.

*this very post brought to you by an auto-saved draft

Jebus314

I vote off. Never come across an instance where I hadn't already manually saved if the post was long enough.